"The Tlak'khan are a warrior species with a technological level comparable to the Goa'uld System Lords. Their empire composed of several sectors on the opposite side of the galaxy from Earth. While they were able to drive any Goa'uld attack off, the Tlak'khan are not benevolent overlords. They are ruthless, cunning, and quite hostile. In the absence of the System Lords and the defeat of the Ori... we have reason to believe the Tlak'khan are preparing to expand their sphere of influence. However... Tok'ra operatives have also discovered that the Tlak'khan seem to be dealing with some kind of... internal rebellion. Something, or someone, is fighting them from within their own territory."

-Tok'ra Intelligence Report to Stargate Command.

Chapter 5

Courage of Ponies

Temple of the Goddess

Ikana City

SP-002 (Ikana)

Sunset pulled away from the grate and looked back into the darkness of the tunnel at her team. Vinyl Scratch was holding a light spell, casting a glow from her horn while keeping it low enough to not be noticed from the outside. Applejack bit her lip, unsure what to do, while Rainbow Dash was checking her Arc Caster. They had all but come face to face with the very enemy that had set them on this path.

"What do we do?" Vinyl Scratch asked.

"Those... Tlak'khan... took Kora and the others," Sunset said as she fixed her mane. She then looked down the tunnel before tapping her headset and activating the built in flashlight. "Personally... I say we find them and rescue them."

"I'm game," Rainbow Dash said.

"Ah ain't gonna turn mah back on a friend," Applejack added.

"You're team lead Sunset," Vinyl Scratch chirped. "What's on the playlist?"

"Lock and load girls. We might need our Arc Casters. Vinyl, with me. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, bring up the rear," Sunset said before starting down the tunnel. Three audible clicks later, EG-1 was proceeding down the tunnel... totally lost. It wasn't long before Sunset turned her light off as they came close to another grate. The rest of EG-1 followed suit, and the team lead crept up to the grate.

Outside... was a Tlak'khan standing guard.

Sunset grit her teeth before looking around for anything she could use. On the other side of the hall from her little hidey hole was a horizontal pole with some kind of drapery hanging from it. Motioning for Vinyl Scratch to come up next to her, Sunset again looked at the pole, a plan in the works.

"Vinyl... how's you're grip?" she asked quietly.

"Probably not the best, but I got wicked dexterity," Vinyl Scratch replied. "Need the fine control when I'm swapping albums quickly."

"See the bar out there?"

"Yea..."

"You grab one end, I'll grab the other. We yank that thing down, slam it into the lizard guy, then wrap him in the fabric. On three?"

"On three."

After a quiet countdown, the two Unicorns cast a telekinesis spell, bathing them in the light of their respective magics.

Guard duty was boring. Especially in a secure hall... on a planet deep in Imperial territory. The warrior wanted a battle! Not babysitting a hallway to keep the religious people in the makeshift dungeon. As he grumbled again about boredom, a new sound came to his ears. Adjusting his grip on his Staff Weapon, he looked around for immediate threats and found... nothing. Yet the sound continued. It took a moment to trace the sound to the wall hanging tapestry. For some reason... the bar holding the tapestry was glowing two distinct colors... and shaking as if it was trying to rip free of the wall.

Soon, the bar ripped free of the stone wall, wobbling a bit as if it was unbalanced, before stabilizing and floating in front of the warrior. He shifted his Staff a bit as he looked on, wondering what to make of this phenomenon. Suddenly the bar rushed forward and slammed into him, throwing him into the wall behind him. Out of reflex, he fired his Staff before finding himself knocked for a loop and being wrapped up in the tapestry. As soon as he was wrapped up like a burrito, the bar came around again, slammed into his head, and everything went black.

The grate in the wall glowed before removing itself from the opening and moving to the side. Soon after, Sunset Shimmer emerged, waving her Arc Caster around looking for any more Tlak'khan.

"Clear," she said before moving to secure the fallen Staff Weapon. The rest of EG-1 emerged, and Sunset brought the fallen weapon over to Applejack. Having an idea of what she wanted, Applejack asked Vinyl Scratch to help tie the weapon to her side. If they ever got back to Equestria, they'd need proof that they ran into the Invaders.

"I'll fly down the hall to scout ahead," Rainbow Dash said.

"Try not to get spotted," Sunset replied.

"Do you know who I am?" Rainbow Dash said with a cocky smile before taking off and zooming down the hallway, leaving behind a rainbow contrail.

The Tlak'khan were nothing if not efficient. They were able to convert a section of the lower level of the Temple into a makeshift prison, complete with cages. While not as sturdy as an actual prison cell, it was strong enough to hold the imprisoned Ikana.

Kora sighed as she sat in the corner of her cell. She prayed to the Goddess that Sunset Shimmer and her friends were able to escape the city undetected. In her time talking to the Equestrians, she learned that they were a peaceful people. They wouldn't stand a chance against the might of the Tlak'khan Empire.

The guards suddenly looked up, and Kora was confused. How was a rainbow inside the Temple?

"Goddess... let that be a sign that they are safe..."

"Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash. Got three lizards guarding cages here."

"Yea... we see them. Think you can get them to turn their backs to us?"

"Not a problem," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "Giving them the ol' 'Buck You' in five."

Inching closer to the corner, Rainbow Dash poked her head around to look again down the hallway. The Tlak'khan warriors were still trying to figure out what flew over their heads. With a smirk, the rainbow maned Pegasus stepped out into the hallway.

"HEY! UGLY LIZARD TURDS! OVER HERE!" she yelled before blowing a raspberry. Her eyes went wide as the immediate response was several bolts of orange death that came flying at her. Jumping to safety, Rainbow Dash gasped for breath. They just tried to kill her!

Sunset braced herself against the wall, and winced as soon as she heard the volley of Staff blasts.

"Uh... they're pissed," Rainbow Dash said, sounding edgy.

"Hang on Dashie," Applejack replied. "We got 'em flanked."

With a nod, Applejack took position and aimed her Arc Caster at the backs of the Tlak'khan. Sunset and Vinyl followed suit.

"FIRE!"

Sapphire bolts lanced out from the three ponies and slammed into the backs of the Tlak'khan. The assault didn't go unnoticed, as they were wearing armor, and they turned to deal with this new threat. One of the warriors collapsed under the concentrated fire as the other two raised their Staff Weapons, only to start taking hits from behind as another Arc Caster joined the fight. The second Tlak'khan fell, and the last remaining one found himself hit from two sides as he tried to return fire. He only managed to get off two shots before joining his comrades.

"Clear!" Sunset called out.

"Clear!" Rainbow Dash replied.

The ponies came into the hallway, and Kora gasped in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Kora asked.

"Does the word 'jailbreak' mean anything to you?" Sunset replied with a smirk. "Stand back. I'm gonna blow the lock."

Kora stood back as Sunset took aim and fired. The lock exploded in a shower of sapphire sparks, and soon the bacon haired Unicorn was pulling the door open as the rest of EG-1 was freeing the other Ikana. Kora saw the Staff tied to Applejack, and offered to take it from her. One of the other priests objected, but Kora raised a hand to silence him.

"I fear that Lord Thok Mok planned to execute us. We're fighting for our lives now. And while I trust in the Goddess, I will not idly wait for death. Perhaps the Prophecy is coming true."

With a skilled hand, Kora released the Staff from Applejack's side and gracefully spun it in her hand for a moment to test its weight. She then motioned for everyone to follow her. After a moment she brought them to a dead end. Before any of the ponies could object, she placed a glowing hand against the stone. There was an audible click, and the wall shifted to reveal a hidden passageway. Sunset took a moment to poke her head in to confirm it was clear before nodding up to Kora. The Priestess led the group down the hidden passage with a confidence that made Sunset feel better.

They eventually came to a large chamber filled with strange runes. But what caught Sunset's eye was what looked like carvings of stylized equine figures. As the Ikana gathered around, Sunset placed a hoof on the stone wall. She recognized many of these images! But... that should be impossible!

"Priestess Kora... what's this?" Sunset asked.

"Ah... that is a legend. The tale of the Exiled Goddess of the Night. It is said that there were two Goddesses. One of the Day, one of the Night. Both loved by their disciples. Yet the disciples flourished in the day, and slept at night. The Night Goddess felt betrayed by this..." Kora started to say before Sunset suddenly cut in.

"And consumed by her anger, Princess Luna became the entity known as Nightmare Moon and tried to usurp the throne, stating that the night would be eternal. Reluctantly, Princess Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to banish her own sister to the Moon for a thousand years.

I know this story. The Mare in the Moon is from Equestria... but what is it doing here? And... what is this extra part?"

"That... is the tale of the Goddess' redemption. Upon the day of her return, the Night Goddess spirited away her sister. What she didn't expect was for six of her own disciples to rise up against her and use the very artifacts her sister used to defeat her."

"With help from Twilight, we found th' Element of Magic an' blasted Nightmare Moon, freein' Princess Luna from her darkness," Applejack spoke up. "But... how'd you know 'bout all that?"

Kora explained that the engravings on the walls had been there for ten thousand years at least. As this was going on, Sunset's eyes were drawn to another set of engravings. This one seemed to depict the Stargate, and three distinctly ponylike figures, one with a horn and one with wings, standing against some kind of menacing, clawed hand stretched out as if to take everything before it. If it was like the Mare in the Moon story on the other wall, this was telling a tale of a great battle of some kind. A fight against the darkness? As she looked at the mural, Sunset noticed something different near the bottom.

Narrowing her eyes, Sunset placed a hoof on the stone and tried swiping some of the dust away. Symbols started to take form, and soon the redheaded mare started to blow the dust away as well. It wasn't long before what she was doing caught the attention of the others. Even Kora noticed and asked about what she was doing. Sunset pointed out the mural before going back to what she was doing.

"That is the legend of three tribes united challenging the darkness," Kora said. "I do admit though that it is more vague than the Exiled Goddess."

"One... two... three..." Sunset said to herself as each symbol she discovered was uncovered. They looked like Stargate symbols! "Four... five... six... seven. Seven symbols. A gate sequence. Vinyl, write down these symbols. Might be worth looking into."

The resident DJ took out a notepad and started copying the symbols. Kora saw them too and gasped.

"What is it?" Sunset asked.

"Supposedly... the symbols that lead to the warriors in the legend," was Kora's reply.

Sunset looked up at the carved equine figures. Earth Pony, Unicorn, Pegasus. At least that's what they looked like. Three kinds of ponies. Three tribes... united...

It seemed pretty farfetched, but... did whoever carve these walls... know that Sunset's team would come here? That Equestria, and by extension all of Equus, would be forced to fight the Tlak'khan? What did it all mean? Was this a prophecy? Or was it something else entirely? Granted Sunset wasn't one to dwell on fate and destiny anymore, but the question remained... was this a look into the future?

"Lets get some rest. The Tlak'khan will be looking for us by now. We need to get off this world, and we should do that when we're up for it," she said.

"I know several worlds we could go to," Kora said. "Perhaps we can find shelter with the Pandarans. Their world, Pandora, is a major trade center. The Tlak'khan wouldn't risk disrupting the economy of an entire sector."

With a nod, Sunset decided it might be best to try anything.

Having spent the night in the tunnels, Sunset and her team were as ready as they would ever be to make a run for the Stargate. Kora and the others were ready as well. Applejack had shared some of their food with the Ikana, so everyone at least had had something to eat.

Kora opened another secret door, and the group was confronted with a view of the streets of Ikana City. At least they'd have a bit of a head start on the Tlak'khan.

"Rainbow Dash... as soon as we got an opening, fly ahead and secure the gate," Sunset said. "Do whatever you have to."

"You got it Sunset," the resident Pegasus replied with an exaggerated salute.

Taking a deep breath, Sunset gave a silent countdown before bolting out of the passageway and into the streets of Ikana City. The rest of the group followed, with Rainbow Dash flying above them. Ignoring the startled cries of the early morning Bazaar shoppers, EG-1 barreled through the crowds heading for the city gate with Kora and her people following close behind. As soon as they reached the gate, Sunset saw trouble. A Tlak'khan warrior. Gritting her teeth, Sunset charged directly at the warrior lowering her head and aiming her horn right at him. She knew it would probably hurt her too, but right now she was thinking more about her team and the Ikana than she was her own personal safety.

The warrior heard what sounded like a charging animal, turned, and saw a four legged creature charging him at breakneck speed. Swinging his staff to take aim, he gave a guttural cry, alerting another warrior acting as a sentry. Unfortunately the warrior miscalculated the creature's speed, and just as he was pulling the trigger, the red and yellow maned equine slammed full force into him, driving a horn into his unprotected midsection. The force of the impact sent both the warrior and the equine sprawling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Sunset reeled back as she pulled away from the Tlak'khan, the force of her banzai charge throwing her for a loop as she tried to regain her bearings. Just as she was shaking her head clear, a large, meaty hand grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her into the air. Still somewhat dazed, Sunset couldn't focus enough to cast any kind of spell.

"Hey! Ugly! Think fast!"

The warrior turned, and was struck in the face by Applejack. The Earth Pony had been slightly behind Sunset, and had just launched herself at the warrior, front hooves extended. Being an apple farmer, the Earth Pony was not so squishy as the Unicorn in the warrior's grip. Hooves strengthened from years of work on the farm, aided by a good kick off the ground, landed the warrior flat on his back with two hoofprints on his face, and the culprit of the attack behind him sliding to a stop. Letting go of Sunset, the warrior started pushing himself back up when Applejack planted her front hooves, cocked her rear legs, and unloaded with everything she had into his face. The buck sent the warrior flying into another wall, where he slumped to the ground KO'd.

"We gotta go!" Rainbow Dash said before lunging at the sentry as he sent up an alarm.

"Are you alright Sunset?" Vinyl Scratch asked.

"Yea... I'll live," Sunset replied as she wiped some of the Tlak'khan blood off her face. "I'm not gonna do that again anytime soon."

With the sentry knocked out, Rainbow Dash bolted as fast as her wings could carry her towards the Stargate. Once she was confident that there were no hostiles around it, she started looking for something that could help.

"If I were a wild... ah... there's one," she said with a smirk before flying off to retrieve the object in question.

"There are more Tlak'khan here than I anticipated!" Kora said as the group ran full tilt down the path towards the Stargate.

"No kidding!" Sunset replied. They had made it part of the way before the group found themselves being pursued by Tlak'khan warriors. One of which looked like the important one from the first sighting. And they were riding some kind of animals.

"There's th' gate!" Applejack called out. "But ah don't think we'll make it!"

Sunset grit her teeth as she ran, having a feeling Applejack was right. But something caught her eye. A rogue storm cloud in the otherwise clear sky... and a rainbow colored tail hanging out the back of it. With a smirk, Sunset cast a quick flare spell. The magic bolt flew up into the sky before exploding in an impressive, but harmless manner. She was hoping that Rainbow Dash was watching, and sure enough the Pegasus jumped up and seemed to be assessing the situation.

"Rainbow Dash here... here comes the light show!" her voice rang out over the radio.

"Hit the dirt!" Sunset called out before skidding to a stop and dropping to the ground. Vinyl Scratch and Applejack followed suit as the Ikana wondered what was going on.

"Come on you alien cloud... time to show me some love," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk before doing a quick loop and... bucking the cloud. In response, the storm cloud unleashed a lightning bolt towards the ground at the angle Rainbow Dash had struck it. The lighting struck the ground between the fleeing team and the Tlak'khan, causing the warriors to recoil at the sudden natural assault.

"BOOYAH!" Rainbow Dash cheered before lining up and unleashing another lightning bolt, this time at the Tlak'khan. All but one of the warriors managed to scatter in time before raising their Staff Weapons and unleashing a volley of orange death at the offender. Due to the range though, Rainbow Dash had no trouble zigging and zagging out of harms way before unleashing bolt after bolt from the cloud.

"What's going on?" one of the Ikana asked.

"A Pegasi's natural weapon. Weather itself," Sunset replied. "Vinyl! Dial the gate! Applejack, with me! Everyone else take cover!"

Sunset and Applejack ran for a pile of rocks near the path, hunkered down, and took aim with their Arc Casters. Vinyl Scratch bolted for the DHD. At first she was at a loss as to what to do, but then remembered what was said about the symbols they found and made a decision. With luck, the gamble just might pay off.

As soon as the storm cloud was exhausted, Rainbow Dash bolted for the gate and the rest of the team. As soon as she made it, sapphire bolts came flying at the Tlak'khan who had advanced in an attempt to take the gate. Sunset and Applejack were doing their best to keep the warriors at bay. Finding cover somewhere else, Rainbow Dash joined the fight.

Symbol five. Press. Symbol six. Press. Symbol seven... press. Vinyl Scratch finished the sequence but... other than the chevrons on the gate lighting up nothing happened. It took a moment for her to remember that she had to press down on the large red dome in the center to activate the gate.

"Celestia... let this work," she said before placing both front hooves on it and pressing down.

Firestar Base

Stargate Initiative Headquarters, Cascade Mountains

Equestria

Twilight Sparkle was in the gate room, overseeing the installation of a new defense mechanism when a new sound came to her ears. The chevrons on the gate lit up, and all activity in the chamber stopped. The inner ring spun for a moment before locking in place and the kawoosh burst into existence.

"What just happened?" one of the technicians asked in shock.

"Offworld activation..." Twilight said in disbelief before shaking her head. "Defense teams!"

Several Royal Guard outfitted with larger Arc Casters took position near the ramp and took aim. For a tense moment nothing happened.

"SGI Command, this is EG-1! PLEASE tell me you're on the other side!"

Twilight blinked in surprise before rushing to the console that was set up as a temporary radio transmitter.

"Vinyl Scratch?" Twilight all but shouted into the microphone. "We hear you. What's..."

Several orange bolts came flying through the event horizon, slamming into the back wall. Twilight's eyes went wide in fear. The defense teams tensed up.

"What's going on?! We're taking fire!"

"Pinned down by the gate by Tlak'khan warriors! We got refugees with us! Keep the gate clear, I'm coming through with them! Sunset's holding off the Tlak'khan!"

Twilight bit her lip. EG-1 was under attack, and... who were the Tlak'khan?

"You're clear! Come home!"

After a minute, Vinyl Scratch came through, saw the defense teams, and held up a hoof.

"Don't shoot! They're refugees!" she called out as the first of a group of aliens started coming through.

"Get 'em clear of the gate!" Twilight ordered.

Stargate Clearing

SP-002 (Ikana)

Sunset ducked behind the rocks as a Staff blast slammed into the stone where her head had been. Popping up again, she unleashed another barrage before it fizzled out.

"I'm out!" she called out before ducking down again. With a flick of her hoof, she opened the spellstone chamber, ejected the spent spellstone, and slammed a fresh one home before closing it. With a reassuring click, the weapon was armed again.

"Kora an' th' others are through!" Applejack said as she unleashed another burst. "Time t' go!"

"Go! I'll be right behind you!"

With a nod, Applejack jumped up and bolted for the gate. Bolts of orange death followed her in an attempt to take her down, but all failed to connect as the blond Earth Pony jumped through the event horizon with a splish. Rainbow Dash popped her head up long enough to see what was going on. Sunset saw her, and motioned for the Pegasus to go next. Nodding in response, Rainbow Dash opened fire for a moment before lifting off into the air and flying towards the gate.

An orange bolt struck Rainbow Dash in the barrel, causing the rainbow maned mare to cry out moments before she crossed the portal.

Swearing under her breath, Sunset jumped into the open and cast a shield spell. Multiple Staff bolts slammed into her shield in an attempt to get at the soft center. Unlike Celestia's shield, Sunset's was nowhere near as strong, and the strain each impact was causing was evident on the mare's face as she flinched each time a bolt splashed off the emerald barrier. The lead Tlak'khan held up a hand, signaling the others to cease fire.

The lead Tlak'khan said something in that guttural language. Unable to understand him, Sunset just inched her way closer to the gate, maintaining the shield spell.

"I don't know who you are... but you attacked my world," she said. "We may be peaceful, but we will not let that go without a response."

As soon as she figured she had a straight shot at the gate, Sunset dropped her shield and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

The lead Tlak'khan gestured at the gate, and his warriors charged.

Firestar Base

Stargate Initiative Headquarters, Cascade Mountains

Equestria

Rainbow Dash tumbled through the Stargate screaming in pain before landing hard on the ramp. Applejack was the first to get to her and started pulling her clear before anything else could get through. Twilight was soon at her side, looking scared. She called for a medical team just as something else came through the gate.

It was Sunset.

All of EG-1 was present and accounted for. But Twilight had a bad feeling.

"Raise the shield!" she called out.

Twin crystals came to life on either side of the Stargate, and a magic shield formed. The energy of the shield was only a few millimeters off the event horizon, a calculation Twilight made in hopes of stopping unwanted visitors. Soon there were several flashes against the shield before the gate shut down.

Medics arrived, lead by Fluttershy, and immediately started to prep Rainbow Dash to be moved onto a stretcher. Although a look of fear crossed the timid Pegasus' face, she noticed that the smoldering patch... was entirely on the dragonscale vest. And it looked like it had not punched all the way through.

"Lets get her to the infirmary," Fluttershy finally said, getting the medics to carefully hoist the wounded mare onto the stretcher and trot her out.

Twilight took a deep breath before looking over at Sunset. The fire maned mare looked dirty and exhausted, but alive. With a smirk, Sunset waved at the young Alicorn.

"What? No Welcome Back Pinkie Pie Party?" Sunset asked sarcastically.